Desire
by kxylie98
Summary: It was adventure that Amelia wanted when she accepted an internship working with Tony Stark. And it was adventure she got. Bucky/OC
1. Chapter 1

Amelia Claire Pallis was not one to be late. One might call her a perfectionist. A control freak, even. So how did she find herself driving 30 miles over the speed limit, running every red light she came across, the tires of her black Volkswagen Jetta screeching to a halt in front of the restaurant she worked as a hostess at, a whole hour late?

It all began with that Stark Industries internship.

A program organized by Pepper Potts, the girlfriend of the infamous Tony Stark, the Stark Industries Internship Search was created to change the futures of two lucky young adults who would be chosen to participate. Only the top of the top would even be considered, as the internship was described by Potts as 'an incredibly difficult but rewarding job'. The two chosen were given the opportunity to live in Stark Towers for a year while they assisted Tony and his team of engineers in whatever they were needed for.

Amelia was a smart girl. She finished her four years of high school with an unweighted GPA of 4.0, and she was the valedictorian of her class. Amelia was president of many clubs within her school. She had many friends, and even managed to pull a boyfriend or two along her high school career. They never lasted though. Despite having a close group of friends and a loving (for the most part) family, after graduating senior year Amelia had never felt more alone. She was tired of the same day to day activities. She was tired of the ridiculously easy classes. Most of all, she was tired of not being challenged. She yearned for adventure, for an academic struggle of some sort, she felt like her brain was wasting away in the small Florida town she resided in. She wanted nothing more than to get out of there and make something of herself; she had her pick of colleges thanks to her outstanding credentials, but it all seemed so mundane for her. She had moved out of her mother's home right after graduating, but found it hard to live comfortably so after a year she returned to her childhood home.

Then she hears about the internship. Read about it online somewhere, perhaps; either way, she knew she had to apply. Amelia knew she was smarter than most her age, and frankly, smarter than most adults she knew. Not that she considered her friends and family to be dumb, she just genuinely enjoyed problem solving and putting herself to the test. It maybe had something to do with the fact that she was a major control freak and had to prove her self worth to herself. Regardless, getting away to New York for a year and working on equations and machines and the works with none other than Tony Stark was exactly what she needed. So she applied.

Initially, Amelia had wanted to be a doctor of some sorts. Then, she began leaning toward becoming a biomedical engineer. However, she also enjoyed mechanical engineering - basically the job description of the internship.

You would never guess it, looking at her. She stood at barely 5'3. Her Greek roots from her father gave Amelia lightly tanned skin, but she gained the thick blonde hair falling to just below her shoulder blades and big hazel eyes from her mother. An average weight, some might say on the slender side, anyone who knew Amelia would doubt that she even knew how to drive a car.

The 22 year old (she graduated two years late at age 20, since she was out of school for two years after her junior year for reasons she tried to forget) not only knew her way around a car - she could take one apart and put it back together. It was the same with anything she came across; her laptop, her ex-military father's guns, even her family's kitchen appliances. She loved knowing how things worked and had a thirst for knowledge, and quite frankly, something more challenging than the ridiculously easy college courses her high school schedule had been filled with.

One can imagine how ecstatic she was to return home from a shopping trip one Saturday afternoon to find a thick envelope labeled 'Stark Industries Internship Search' in the mailbox.

Amelia raced inside, shopping bags long forgotten in the trunk of her car. She barely even heard the muffled 'Welcome home' her mother greeted her with from the other room before she screamed.

"Look what I got in the mail! Everybody get your asses down here right now or I'm opening it without you!" Amelia's voice filled her home.

Within seconds, her mother, step-dad, 19 year old brother, and 6 year old sister were crowded around her where Amelia stood in the living room. Without even explaining, she took a deep breath, prayed it was an acceptance letter and not a rejection, and ripped the envelope open.

Her hazel eyes hungrily scanned the letter, fingers shaking as she gripped onto it so tight her knuckles turned white. A few moments of silence passed before her sister finally spoke up.

"Did you get in Lia? Did you do it?" The 6 year old was grinning with anticipation. Amelia spared her a quick glance and smile before she cleared her throat.

"Dear Amelia Pallis, I am so pleased to announce that you have been chosen to participate as an intern at Stark Industries for the next year. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and we are thrilled to meet you and see your talent in action. We would appreciate if you would refrain from disclosing this information to anyone other than close family members, due to security reasons. Enclosed inside is your plane ticket and all the paperwork to be completed. You and the other applicant chosen will be debriefed on your jobs and what's expected from you when you arrive in New York, where Tony and I will be present to gather both of you from the airport. We look forward to it! Signed, Pepper Potts." Amelia spoke, voice wavering with excitement. Her mother had tears in her eyes as she embraced Amelia.

"I can't believe this. I'm so proud of you!" Her mother choked out in between tears. Amelia rolled her eyes playfully.

"It's not that big of a deal." She said with a knowing grin and giggle before she looked down at her plane ticket and paled.

"June 15th? That's in three days!" Amelia panicked. She was used to planning out every single detail of everything she did, and now all of a sudden she was supposed to just pack up and leave? She wondered for a moment if she would even have time to color code the contents of the luggage she would be bringing.

 _Not your biggest problem, Amelia_.

Even with the anxiety of basically leaving everything behind so suddenly, she was beyond excited and after accepting the congratulations of her family, Amelia took a detour outside to grab the forgotten contents in her trunk and immediately raced into her room to begin researching and packing (but not before pressing her finger against the scanner she had built on the wall outside of her door- at one point during high school Amelia got tired of her siblings barging into her room so she crafted a fingerprint security system to protect from the annoying intruders.)

Through the excessive use of google, two hours later Amelia had absorbed just about all of the information about Stark Industries she could find. Nothing too useful could be discovered through google - she figured it was for security reasons.

Nonetheless, Amelia shut her laptop and stood up from her desk, looking around at her perfectly organized room. She would miss it here, and wondered idly how much she would be allowed to decorate her room in Stark Towers.

An hour and a half later, Amelia had located two huge suitcases in her mom and stepdad's closet that they allowed her to take, and one was filled to the brim with countless shirts, pants, dresses, shoes, and accessories. You could never be too prepared in Amelia's eyes. She figured she would wait until they day before to begin packing her non-clothing luggage, since she still had two days of living in Florida.

Her phone, lying forgotten on her desk from when she was researching, chimed. Amelia crossed her room and grabbed the phone, eyes scanning the text she received from her co-worker Erin before she almost gasped in surprise.

' _Hey, where are you? Are you not coming in today? Your shift started 30 minutes ago and I know you're not one to be late.'_ The text read.

Amelia thanked God that she had decided to wear a dressy black long-sleeved shirt and dark jeans to go shopping, since the outfit abided by the restaurant she worked at's dress code. She ran a brush through her loose curls and grabbed her apron, slipping on her black ankle booties before she yelled a quick explanation to her mother and ran out the door.

She wasn't typically a rule breaker, and if she ever was, it was usually voluntary on her part. However, all the rules of the road went completely forgotten to Amelia as she drove like a maniac down the back roads to the restaurant, an Olive Garden. Even though she would have to quit her job, that didn't mean she didn't despise being late with a passion. It made her feel like a failure.

However, while driving, Amelia realized she wasn't ashamed to admit that she was glad her nights would no longer be spent serving breadsticks and carb-loaded fake Italian food to snooty old people.

Fast forward to the present: Amelia's hands clutched the steering wheel with incredible force, her eyes flickering across the parking lot in search of a space, her heart pounding with the thought of being tardy. Within minutes, she located an empty space and pulled in rather recklessly, her tires screeching on the gravel. She ignored what may have been her worst parking job ever and practically ran across the lot, before bursting through the front door in search of the shift manager.

"I'm here! I'm late but I'm here and I promise it will never happen again - well it'll never happen again because I'm quitting today but that's a different story - I'm so so so sorry I feel so bad-" Her rambling was cut off by the shift manager, Erin, gasping.

"You're quitting? Why?"

Amelia was glad that the attention was diverted from her tardiness, and regained her cool composure with a beaming smile.

"I'm traveling to New York for a year. To study. My flight leaves on Tuesday morning." Erin raised her eyebrows at this confession.

"Not exactly a two weeks notice, but if you say so. It's a shame; who's going to take apart the microwave and wire it to be ten times as powerful now?" Amelia giggled at the memory Erin had brought up.

"I'm sure you'll find someone."

Her last shift went smoothly and was over before she knew it. Amelia clocked out for the last time, and knew she should feel sad to be leaving her first ever job (and the friends she had made in it) behind, but with the news she had received today Amelia doubted she was capable of being sad.

/

"Three days pass really damn quickly." Amelia's brother, Niko, spoke from her doorway. She looked up from her vanity where she was skillfully applying the last of her makeup for the big day, and gave her brother a small smile, her lips painted a shade of pink.

"I'll visit, and we can Skype if you're really gonna miss me _that_ much. Idiot." She added the insult at the end to take away any notion he might have received that she was trying to have a 'moment' with him. She scoffed at the thought.

Before he could respond, she continued. "Besides, maybe by the time I'm back, you'll have finally grown the balls to move in with Jacob." Amelia said with a grin, referring to her brother's boyfriend who had recently invited him to move in. Her brother rolled his matching hazel eyes.

"I'm not going to take an insult from someone insane enough to color code an entire suitcase. Deuces, sister." He said with a nod of his head as he walked out of her room.

Amelia frowned with a look towards the first suitcase containing her clothes, zipping it up. She was proud of the aesthetically-pleasing organization feat.

"Lia, it's time to get going!" She heard her mother yell from another room.

Taking a deep breath, she admired her room that she loved so much one last time, toying with a few of her favorite little inventions on her desk before checking over her reflection in the vanity's mirror one last time.

The flight would only be three hours, so she didn't bother dressing like she was going into hibernation. Amelia wore a form-fitting and slightly high waisted olive green pencil skirt that reached down to just below her knees in an attempt to make herself look taller, matched with a long-sleeved white shirt with a bit of a plunging neckline and white lace-up heels. She slipped on a gold necklace with a small diamond she had received from her father as a graduation gift that rested on her collarbones, and a gold-colored cuff bracelet. She wasn't a big fan of purses, so opted for her favorite nude Michael Kors clutch wallet that she had treated herself to with extra money earned from work. Her makeup was done to look natural; it consisted of a tinted moisturizer, blush, highlighter, a few sweeps of neutral gold eyeshadow, a light coat of mascara, and her favorite dusty rose colored matte lipstick.

Scanning over her outfit one last time and making sure everything was in place, Amelia was ready to leave. She was a bit uncomfortable; she enjoyed dressing up and wanted to look professional, but admittedly much more preferred jeans and a nice top.

"Lia!" Amelia's thoughts were interrupted when her 6 year old sister Chloe came running into her room and almost knocked her over with a hug. The elementary school girl was tiny, but strong.

"I'm going to miss you sooo much Lia, but mommy says we're going to talk on Skype and text you a bunch!" Chloe said with a gap-toothed grin as she wiped her eyes, obviously trying not to cry. Amelia's heart softened.

"Don't cry you little monkey, I'll visit! And maybe you guys will get to take a trip to New York and visit me!" Amelia wasn't sure if her mom was quite behind the idea but hated to see her sister so sad.

"Cool! New York is where the Avengers live, and where they fight the bad guys. I bet if Star Wars was real then they would live in New York too. I think that everyone should live in New York! Remember that one episode we watched of Wonderpets where they went to Coney Island and-" The small girl's blue eyes shone with excitement as she rambled on about New York. She was a bit of a tomboy, and loved anything action-related, hence why she idolized people like Captain America. Chloe was cut off by her mother shouting that Amelia had better hurry up or she'd miss her flight.

After a bear hug and kiss on the nose to Chloe, Amelia bid her step-dad a slightly awkward goodbye hug. They were close, but not too close. He was a car fanatic, and if Amelia wasn't so handy with them she doubted they would have anything to talk about.

After loading her suitcases into the trunk of the 'soccer mom' van, as Amelia so lovingly named her mother's car, she took one last look at the home she grew up in. She would miss it badly, along with her family because of how incredibly close they were, but her mind was too busy thinking up of all the things she would be busy with in New York to dwell on the aching in her heart upon pulling out of the driveway and hitting the road.

Along the drive to the airport, her mom tried to make light conversation. Amelia was far more interested in putting her shaking hands to work, and got halfway through dismantling the GPS in the car before she was caught.

"Amelia Claire! Please fix that in the next ten minutes or we'll have to get a new- how did you even get it into that many pieces- you keep a SCREWDRIVER in your wallet? Of course." Her mom seemed to give up as Amelia giggled and began putting it back together.

/

One tearful goodbye and three-hour plane ride later, Amelia arrived in New York. She could hardly contain her smile, and could feel an ache coming on in her cheeks. After locating her suitcases, her eyes narrowed slightly as they wandered the crowd, looking for the face of Pepper Potts. She realized this was a very small airport, as there were only a handful of flights scheduled to arrive and leave.

After a bit of searching, she finally saw Pepper sitting in a waiting area near the front of the airport, talking on what Amelia presumed to be a bluetooth earpiece. She approached Pepper with an uncontrollable grin, her loose blonde curls bouncing with her as her high heels clacked against the tile with every step.

Pepper looked over to the sound of the heels, and her eyes instantly met Amelia's with a warm smile.

"Tony, I'm not going to keep arguing with you on this. Just talk to the poor boy. Stop being a big baby. Yes you are! She's here, I'll see you in a minute." Amelia could hear the end of the supposed argument between Pepper and Tony as she approached the now-standing woman.

"Amelia! How great to finally meet you! You look gorgeous. I'm so excited to have you here, I think this internship will be a great experience for you and Zach."

Amelia beamed even wider, if that was possible. "Thank you so much, and I hope so!" She took a moment to process the rest of Pepper's sentence and questioned, "Mrs. Potts, may I ask who Zach is?"

"Oh please, call me Pepper. Zach is the other one chosen, he's a great young man from California I believe. He's in the jet meeting Tony right now, he arrived maybe twenty minutes ago? We're on a bit of a tight schedule so please forgive me for rushing you along but we've really got to go meet Tony in the jet now!" Pepper responded while a couple of workers took Amelia's suitcases and led them outside, where a private jet was waiting. Amelia's jaw went slack for a few seconds before she regained composure and quickened her pace to match the older woman's.

"Oh, and don't mind Tony. Between you and me, he really wasn't behind this whole internship thing. He never wants to admit that he needs help, but we've got a bit of a problem that we really needed a few more hands to help on. We had to choose between the ages of 18-25, Tony didn't want anyone older than that in fear they would be a double agent or some other possible security breach like that. Background checks are much easier and accurate when one is under 25," Pepper explained before continuing, "Tony is just bitter that he's come across something he can't figure out on his own. It will probably take him a while to warm up to you. He's been with Zach not even thirty minutes and has already threatened the poor kid twice." She said with a small roll of her eyes. Amelia hadn't even realized they had reached the jet, but was brought back to reality when the door opened and Pepper led her inside.

"Tony Stark, Amelia Pallis. Amelia Pallis, Tony Stark." Pepper said with a small smile as she took her seat next to Tony.

 _Oh my god I'm standing in front of Tony Stark oh my god he's real and he's right here oh my god It's fucking Iron Man!_

Amelia's thoughts were running a mile a minute, but she was good at keeping cool even when her anxiety was through the roof.

"Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Stark. I look forward to working with you." Amelia announced with a kind smile and held out her hand, noticing how reluctantly Tony put his hand in hers, but nonetheless gave him a firm handshake.

"Call me Tony, 'mister' makes me sound old." He said, crossing his arms. Amelia was a bit surprised. Was this him warming up to her already? Tony quickly shot down that idea with his next sentence.

"You're an engineer? I don't believe it. You don't even look like you can drive a car."

Amelia raised an eyebrow. Pepper muttered something along the lines of _'Oh god, here we go.'_

If the first statement wasn't enough, Tony kept on going. "How old are you again? I'm confused, because your face and body says 25 but your height says 13." Amelia's eyebrow raised even higher at this, a small grin growing on her face.

"I may be the height of a 13 year old, Tony, but if you did your homework on me you would know that I am, in fact, 22 years old, turning 23 in two months. You would also know that I've earned an A+ in every single course I've ever taken, I have dismantled and not only rebuilt but improved more cars, guns, and appliances than you could ever count, and I have a handful of my own inventions that I'm sure could rival yours. Respectfully, I believe I'm capable of getting the job done." Amelia said with a simple smile as she sat in one of the seats across from Tony and Pepper, crossing her legs and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

Pepper seemed to be waiting for Tony to, for lack of better words, get super pissed off. Amelia could tell by the distressed look in her eyes and how her shoulders slumped forwards slightly.

Tony surprised everyone when he began to chuckle.

"Oh, I like this one. She's like if me if I were a tiny 22 year old girl!" He said between chuckles, breathing a content sigh before going back to looking at some blueprint on his tablet.

Both Pepper and Amelia were shocked at this reaction, exchanging a wide-eyed look. Amelia shrugged lightly, before she heard a man clearing his throat.

She turned, and a few seats down from her sat a young man Amelia assumed to be Zach.

"I'm Zach Rhoades." He confirmed with a shy smile. He had dark brown curls piled on top of his head, chocolate brown eyes, and thick rimmed glasses. He appeared to be at least 6'0, and an average weight. He had a hint of a British accent, and Amelia noticed he was cute in a really nerdy way. She wasn't looking for a relationship, though; she hoped they would become good friends since they were in the same boat and all. She gave him a warm smile and waved.

"Hi! I'm Amelia Pallis, obviously. So, I guess we're going to be living together for the next year. How old are you?" She questioned.

"Just turned 25 a few days ago. This was a pretty awesome birthday present." He said with a laugh before continuing. "You know, I never really thought about that, I guess we are gonna be flatmates. I'll try my best, but I have to warn you - I'm quite unorganized" He admitted shyly. Amelia almost laughed out loud.

"Don't worry, I'll take care of absolutely everything related to organizing, it's therapeutic to me. If I'm being honest, both of my suitcases are completely color coded." She said, half embarrassed and half proud.

"No time for bonding. Time for work. We'll be landing in a few minutes, where I'll introduce you guys to Frosty #1 and Frosty #2. Then we'll all explain our, shall we say, conundrum."

Amelia was confused for a few moments, scrunching her eyebrows together in thought before she began to realize.

 _Wait, he didn't mean- he couldn't have._

Zach almost spit his sip of water out in response to Tony's statement. "Are you referring to Captain America and the Winter Soldier?" He questioned Tony in disbelief.

"Someone's been doing their research. Yes, sadly, I am." Tony said with a small sigh.

"Wait. The internship is supposed to be for engineering. What do Captain America and the Winter Soldier have to do with this internship? Not that I'm not thrilled to meet them, it just wasn't exactly in the job description." Amelia asked with slightly narrowed eyes, the cogs in her brain turning as she tried to figure out a possible reason.

Tony sighed again and leaned back in his seat. "Well, it is about engineering. We needed- _Pepper_ thought we needed help. I don't like hiring new people because of, hm, current circumstances. I had to make sure that the help we got wouldn't be from spies or anyone affiliated with anything suspicious. Background checks are far more accurate when whoever we're checking is under the age of 25, so that means our target group had to be young adults. What are young adults interested in? Internships. Hence why _Pepper_ launched this program, to find the smartest of the smartest of the smartest young adults interested in helping. We need new viewpoints, new ideas. If I had more time I would have been able to do it by myself." He muttered the last part under his breath and Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Okay… so what do you need help on that's so top secret?" Amelia questioned slowly, still processing Tony's initial response. She subconsciously began pulling on pieces of her hair.

Pepper and Tony shared a knowing glance.

"Ever heard of an organization called HYDRA?"

A/N: Hi! This is just an idea I've had for a while after seeing Civil War but never got around to putting it on paper. It's a Bucky/OC. Read if you want, ignore if you don't. If you do read and like, drop a review or follow/favorite! Updates will most likely be irregular. Sometimes it might be one a day, sometimes one a week. School's ending soon as well, so I'm super pumped. Also disclaimer, I don't own shit except for Amelia and Zach. Another disclaimer- I'm by no means an author. This is purely for fun and I don't mind constructive criticism but just letting you guys know, I'm just a high schooler with too much time on her hands!


	2. Chapter 2

_Step, step, step, turn. Step, step, step, turn._

It didn't take long for Bucky to grow incredibly tired of the sound of Steve's heavy shoes hitting the floor with each anxious step he took.

"Pacing won't make them get here any faster." Bucky finally spoke up, his deep blue eyes connecting sharply with Steve's.

They were equally anxious about the arrival of the two new team members; however, Bucky had sat still as a statue on Stark's couch for two hours while Steve had resorted to pacing. Bucky had seen firsthand how in depth the background checks were. He doubted there was anything about the young man and woman that Tony and Pepper didn't know. He knew this meant that it was virtually impossible they would be spies from HYDRA, but the voice in the back of his head told him to never let his guard down, not even for one second. All Bucky knew about the additions to their group was that they were incredibly smart, and would be arriving at many minute.

Almost as if on cue, the elevator doors smoothly opened to reveal Tony, Pepper, a man who looked like he was about to pass out, and a woman whose smile Bucky was sure was bigger than any he'd ever seen before.

 _Then again, there weren't many smiles to go around in HYDRA._

Bucky pushed the thought out of his head, choosing instead to stand up from the leather couch and watch as they entered Tony's apartment.

Bucky surveyed the two carefully as they entered the flat and gazed at him and Steve, in obvious amazement.

The male was 24 or 25. Appeared to be from Hispanic roots, with curly dark brown hair and brown eyes, but spoke with a slight British accent. Approximately 6'1, and lean, maybe 190 pounds. His gaze met Bucky's for a second, and he instantly looked away with fear in his eyes. It was short-lived, but it was there. Bucky almost scoffed before shifting his attention to the female.

She stood at 5'5, Bucky guessed 5'3 without the heels. Around 125 pounds, approximately 22 years old. Obvious Greek roots. Her blonde hair curled at the ends, and when her eyes met his, he noticed the piercing hazel color of them. However, she didn't look away; she kept the eye contact, offering a raise of an eyebrow before she excused herself from Pepper's little apartment tour and approached Bucky and Steve.

"If looks could kill." She smiled jokingly at Bucky. Steve chuckled from his spot on the couch a few feet away.

"Amelia Pallis. Pleased to meet you Mr. Barnes." She spoke confidently. Bucky found his words getting caught in his throat. He wasn't sure what to say. He hadn't felt nervousness in a long time, he quickly realized.

"Bucky." He corrected her after clearing his throat. Without taking his gaze apart from hers, he narrowed his eyes a bit and shook her outstretched hand. Her handshake was firm.

"So," She continued, unfazed by his stoic greeting, "This must be all pretty new to you too, huh? I guess we're in the same boat- you, Zach, and I." Bucky remained silent, searching for words to say, but it seemed he didn't have any. He could only watch as her eyes traveled down his figure, resting on his hand. His arm was covered by the jacket he wore, but the hand was gloveless. He almost sighed, preparing for her to give him the all too familiar gasp of fear.

"May I?" The question caught him off guard. Bucky nodded, a bit confused.

She took his metal hand into her two own, testing its weight. She began to lift the fingers up one by one, her eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "Amazing." She whispered under her breath. She quickly dropped the hand, a bit embarrassed, and met his eyes to mutter a quick apology. "Sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"It's...okay." After his response, a few moments of silence passed. His blue eyes strayed away from her hazel pair to glance at Steve, who looked mildly pissed.

Bucky was confused. What had he done wrong? He was perfectly polite. In fact, Bucky would bet money that the last 30 seconds was the longest he had kept eye contact with someone besides Steve in 70 years.

It wasn't necessarily his fault, though. Before Amelia, Steve was the only one who wouldn't look away.

Amelia shifted her gaze to Steve, and grinned. "Captain America! What an honor. So, you guys both live in this tower?"

Steve gave his award winning smile. "Please, call me Steve. Great to finally meet you, Amelia! Yes, this floor is yours and Zach's, and the floor above is Bucky's and mine. Speaking of Zach, is he going to talk to us any time soon?" He lowered his voice upon asking the last part, and the three of them looked over to the male intern; he stood at the other side of the apartment, watching them converse with a look of both horror and wonder. Amelia giggled quietly.

"I talked to him on the plane some. He's real sweet, but shy. It might take a while." She explained.

"I take it you're not very shy at all." Steve said with a grin.

Amelia shrugged. "I spent a long time being shy. Long story short, it sucked. Life isn't life without good friends." She looked back up to Steve, then to Bucky. "I have a gut feeling that the three of us are going to be great friends." She decided with a satisfied grin.

"The pizza has arrived, sir." A computerized voice that, despite him having been exposed to it for the past two months, Bucky still hadn't adjusted to it, spoke out.

Both Amelia and Zach opened their mouth to ask before Tony explained. "JARVIS, artificial intelligence system. You'll get used to him." The two interns shared a look of disbelief, but accepted it. As Pepper walked back into the apartment holding four boxes of pizza, the group of 6 all sat around the dinner table.

Before Bucky could sit, though, Steve pulled him aside. "C'mon, Buck," Bucky scowled in response before Steve continued, "She was being real nice to you. This is your first chance to make friends." He reminded.

Bucky sighed. "I tried Steve. I couldn't talk, It's like I was choking on my words."

Steve raised an eyebrow at this, and a small smile grew on his face. "You were nervous? Bucky Barnes was _nervous_ talking to a girl?"

Bucky's scowl deepened, and he crossed his arms. "No, I just…" He groaned. "It doesn't matter, she probably doesn't even know who I am. Once she finds out she'll be running scared, just like everyone else." He finished before leaving Steve and taking a seat at the table. The smile dropped from Steve's face as he followed Bucky and sat beside him.

Everyone was hungry after a long day, and dug into the pizza. The group fell into a semi-comfortable silence.

"So. What brings you here?" Pepper broke the quiet, addressing Amelia with a warm smile. She swallowed her bite of pizza before responding.

"Besides you two accepting my application? Well, small town Florida life blows, first of all. After I graduated I considering going to college, I was thinking maybe Harvard or Stanford. I would've had more than enough scholarship money, but I don't know… I had this gut feeling that I shouldn't. It's like, I knew I was meant for something bigger and better. And I always trust my gut feelings - they're seldom wrong." She spared a wink in Bucky and Steve's direction before continuing. "As much as I wish I could plan out and organize and color code every second of my life, I'm working on trusting myself and believing that everything will fall into place. If I'm patient, of course. So, I moved out into an apartment across town, got a job at an Olive Garden, and I guess I was waiting. I didn't know what I was waiting for, but I was. Life alone got lonely and expensive, so I moved back in with my mom and step dad. Then found out about this program, and here I am." She finished with a small shrug of her shoulders, taking a small bite out of her pizza slice.

Bucky was amazed with how nonchalantly she discussed her life with them. She seemed to be an open book. He hadn't taken her eyes off of her once since they all sat, but finally tore his gaze away when Tony suddenly spoke up.

"May I just say your recovery has been amazing."

It was silent for a solid thirty seconds. Recovery? What recovery? Bucky's eyes came to rest on Amelia again. She blinked twice, her face blank, a major contrast to her usually expressive features.

"Excuse me?" She spoke clearly, as if daring him to continue. Tony smiled again, this time more of a smirk.

"Well, we've read your file. You were out of school for two whole years, and the amount of different medical problems you had was impressive if I do say so myself. What it didn't say on your file, though, was the cause of them, but I'm sure they're all connected somehow… care to explain?"

"Tony." Pepper finally spoke up, addressing her boyfriend in a low, threatening tone.

Bucky was confused yet curious. She seemed like a happy and healthy woman.

Amelia sighed. "No, it's okay. I understand why you'd be curious, it must have seemed like a hole in my file or something. There was a two year period where I didn't attend school, and I was hospitalized a few times, but I assure you I'm okay now. We all have our bad times. That was mine." She explained with a shrug, taking another bite of her cheese pizza.

"Oh c'mon. That was hardly an answer!" Tony complained, the ghost of a scowl on his face.

Amelia grinned. "Sorry. You must be at least a level 4 friend to unlock my tragic backstory." Tony rolled his eyes.

Bucky inwardly frowned. Tragic backstory? He knew she was joking - he had picked up on that much. It didn't stop him from being curious, though.

"So, what about you Zach?" Pepper brought the attention to the timid man sitting at the end of the table, who had already inhaled 4 pieces of pizza. His eyes widened like a deer in headlights when everyone turned to look at him.

"Uhh.. I'm Zach Rhoades. 25. I grew up in England with my godmother and godfather, but my parents were from Brazil. Once I turned 18 I moved to California to study engineering at Stanford. I was studying to be an aerospace engineer. I dropped out after getting my bachelors, though, and here I am I guess." He was trying his hardest to not make eye contact with anyone, his gaze darting around the room as he adjusted his glasses.

"This won't work. Stop being so shy! They don't bite." Tony complained, gesturing to Cap and Bucky. He seemed to be fed up with everyone tonight, Bucky noticed.

"I know, I know, it's just…" Zach trailed off. "I must have read every comic book about you guys that there was as a kid. I don't know, it's just… weird now."

Bucky frowned. There were comic books about him?

Steve just chuckled. "Yeah, it must be weird. Don't worry though, we'll give you time to wrap your head around it."

Zach took a breath to respond, a grateful smile on his face, but was quickly interrupted by Tony's chair scraping the floor as he stood.

"Enough of the cutesy introductions, we've got work to do. Now, I told you two in the plane a little about the organization HYDRA. I really didn't even scrape the surface, though. Basically, they're the bad guys, we're the good guys, blah blah blah. They'll stop at nothing to get Frosty #2 here back." Bucky narrowed his eyes at the nickname. "They will not hesitate capturing and/or killing any one of us to do so in the process. Which is why the two of you will be undergoing self defense lessons, courtesy of Capsicle here, and Buckaroo if he's up to it. Additionally, we believe that HYDRA is working on designing new weapons capable of mass destruction. Natasha and Clint, you'll meet them later, have recovered what we believe to be a prototype of said weapon at an abandoned HYDRA hideout. We need he- _could use_ the help of some others to determine 1) what the contraption even is, and 2) how to harness it's powers against them, if it even has any. Also discovered at the abandoned hideout were a couple other odds and ends from HYDRA, including a sample of what seems to be some type of serum. We don't know what it's for, and could use your help experimenting to try to figure it out. Oh, also we're trying to get all of this done before HYDRA is ready to attack." He finished with a deep breath, and promptly sat back down. "God, that was exhausting. I need a drink."

Pepper rolled his eyes at the man. "Now that that's done with… c'mon Tony, lets leave them for tonight. We'll let you sleep on the information, and JARVIS will wake you in the morning so we can get you situated with your schedules." She told the four goodnight, and disappeared into the elevator with a cranky Tony.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now…" Zach didn't seem too keen on the whole 'oh and by the way your life is in danger' speech by Tony.

"Goodnight!" Amelia called out as he trudged into his room, seemingly unbothered.

"You seem surprisingly okay for what Tony just told you two." Steve mentioned, an eyebrow raised. Amelia shrugged, the curls in her hair bouncing along with her shoulders.

"I signed up for adventure, and adventure is what I'm gonna get. Honestly, I'm pumped!" She said brightly.

Bucky was speechless. This girl really was something else.

Steve faked a yawn, unconvincingly stretching his arms out above his head. "I think I'm gonna hit the sack for tonight." He announced, inching towards the elevator.

"Aw, it's only 9! I'm not tired, aren't my new BFFs gonna keep me company?" Amelia pouted.

Steve smirked as he entered the elevator. "Oh, I said I'm hitting the hay. Bucky's staying right here!" He made direct eye contact with Bucky as the elevator doors slid shut, that same smirk still evident on his face.

 _What is he- Oh God. That asshole._

Bucky quickly realized what he was doing. He turned to look at Amelia, to see her staring at him with the ghost of a smile on her face. A few moments of quiet passed.

"...Hey." He finally said. For whatever reason, she burst into a fit of giggles. He stood, brows furrowed. What was so funny?

Bucky was caught off guard when she grabbed his arm- his metal arm- and guided him to the couch.

"Oh, Bucky. You're so awkward." She stifled more laughs as they both sat down.

He frowned. "Sorry-" Amelia quickly cut him off.

"Don't apologize. It's cute. I mean, not cute- I mean not like it's not cute- Well what I mean is it's part of your personality. But I'm gonna get you to open up soon, you just wait."

Bucky fought the feeling it gave him when she called him cute. "I am open." He simply stated.

Amelia looked him up and down. He sat on the couch with his back straight up, hands on his knees. He was obviously tense, and looked ready to jump up from the couch and fight someone at any moment.

"Bucky. You're still as a statue, and I can _feel_ how tense you are even though I'm sitting four feet away." She explained, an amused look on her face.

Bucky frowned again, but let his back curve into the couch and relaxed his muscles a bit. It gave him a feeling of relief throughout his whole body.

"Good enough, for now. So, what's your favorite color?"

Bucky blinked a few times, his eyes searching hers. She was completely serious. "What?"

"Your favorite color. Everyone has one, what's yours?"

"Aren't you going to ask me about Winter Soldier stuff? Or HYDRA stuff?" Bucky was confused. In the few months he'd been rescued for, that's all anyone besides Steve wanted to know about him.

"Well, I'm curious of course, especially about your life pre-serum, but I wouldn't walk up to someone on the street and ask them their deepest darkest secrets. I hardly even know you. So, what's your favorite color?" She repeated, like it was the simplest thing.

Bucky was at a loss for words. She was unpredictable, he quickly decided. He never knew just what was going to come out of her mouth.

"Well, mine is green. Olive green, or dark green in general. I think it's beautiful." She answered her own question.

"Blue." He finally spoke. He didn't fail to notice how her eyes lit up when he responded. "Dark blue."

She grinned, satisfied. "Great choice. So, favorite food? Season? Ice cream flavor? If you could only bring three things on a deserted island with you, and they had to be yellow, what would they be? If you could have one superpower, what would it be? Well, I guess you already do have a superpower." She frowned slightly at the last one, causing him to laugh for the first time around her. She could tell it was a genuine laugh, and she watched as the smile stayed put on his face for a few more seconds.

"I like these questions, they're easy. I remember Steve and I used to spend whatever money we could come by at this hot dog stand, and it was really good. Fall, because it's so peaceful. Chocolate, but it has to be real chocolate, because the fake chocolate tastes horrible. Bananas, lemonade, and a yellow rain jacket. And besides what I can already do, having telepathy would be cool." Bucky answered the questions slowly but surely, thinking out each answer carefully. "Now you answer." He looked back over to her, and she seemed surprise but complied.

"Okay. Traditional saganaki, it's a greek appetizer, and if you've never had it, I'm so making you try it. I think either fall or spring. Strawberry and birthday cake are the best flavors hands down. I would bring a yellow lighter, since I'm not sure I can make a fire out of sticks and leaves, a yellow blanket, because I get cold all the time, and pineapples because they're delicious. I have to agree with you on telepathy."

A few moments of comfortable silence passed before Amelia gasped excitedy.

"What?" Bucky stood up instantly, on high alert, hands held out as if he was ready for an attack.

Amelia laughed loudly. "Sit down, weirdo. I just had an idea." Bucky scowled at the insult but sat back down. "How many modern movies have you seen so far?" She asked. He paused, thinking.

"Uh...none?"

Bucky almost laughed at the stupefied look on Amelia's face. "I can't believe you haven't yet experienced the modern world's greatest waste of time!" She reached for a small black remote on the coffee table and switched the TV on, switching the input over to something called 'Netflix' that Bucky had never heard of.

"I don't even know where to start, there are so many. I can't believe you've actually never seen any of these!" He watched the screen intently as she entered a username and password for this 'netflix' program.

"My most recently watched is Clueless- that was my favorite when I was in high school, probably because I was jealous of her perfectly organized closet. I tried to build the same thing, and it worked for the most part, but my closet was too small to keep it."

Bucky had no idea what she was talking about, but decided he liked when she rambled. It was oddly comforting.

"I guess we could start with Forrest Gump." She stood to turn the lights off, then returned to the couch. Maybe it was Bucky's imagination, but he thought she sat a bit closer than before.

Just as she pressed the play button, she looked over to Bucky and wiggled her eyebrows playfully. "Ready to Netflix and chill?"

Bucky cracked a smile at the expression on her face, but let his eyebrows furrow in confusion. "What does that mean?"

She sighed happily. "Oh, nothing."

/

Finally, after Forrest Gump, E.T, and halfway into The Shining, Amelia fell asleep. She had stayed awake for the most part, explaining parts of the movies to Bucky when he became confused.

He watched Amelia as she breathed steadily. Her head rested on the arm of the large couch, her heels kicked off on the floor, and the rest of her body laying across the couch so that her feet almost rested in Bucky's lap. She held one of the decorative couch pillows close to her chest. As Bucky tried to focus on the movie, he found himself wishing he knew where the blankets were so he could cover her and she wouldn't be cold.

An hour later, the movie was over. It was nearing 4am, but Bucky had refused to let himself fall asleep, knowing what would happen if he had a nightmare. He clicked the TV off, and lifted Amelia from the couch. Bucky carried her bridal style to her room, and layed her down on the bed. He closed the door behind him as he went back out into the living room.

A short elevator ride later, Bucky found himself in his own room. After brushing his teeth and stripping down to his t-shirt and underwear, he climbed into bed and let the stress of the day roll off of him.

Just before he fell asleep, he remembered something.

"JARVIS?" He mumbled, voice scratchy with exhaustion.

"Yes, sir?" The computer instantly responded.

"What is Netflix and chill?"

"Here is the urban dictionary definition of Netflix and chill - Netflix and chill - it means that you are going to go over to your partners house and fuck with netflix in the background. Would you like to hear the examples, sir?"

"No." Bucky quickly responded, eyes wide open, his exhaustion gone for a moment.

That girl was going to be the death of him.

A/N: Wow the support on this has been incredible, thanks so much everyone! Thank you to my reviewers too, I'm glad you're enjoying it :) So, Steve's pretty sneaky. Bucky may or may not have a tiny crush. Life is good (for now *cue evil laugh*) ;)


	3. Chapter 3

"So, how did it go last night?" Bucky glanced up as Steve's voice rang from his doorway .

Bucky scowled at Steve, discreetly tucking a Glock into his waistband and shrugging his navy blue jacket on over it. He didn't fail to notice the small sigh that escaped Steve.

Bucky decided against telling him about the various knives stored in his pockets and shoes.

"Well? Shy, are we?" Steve seemed to be enjoying himself very much, his blue eyes twinkling with the laughter he somehow managed to stifle.

"Why did you do that?" Bucky questioned as he laced up his heavy brown boots. Even in a tee shirt, blue jeans, a heavy jacket, and huge boots, this was the closest he would go to 'street wear'. He was comfortable, but could conceal his weapons.

Steve visibly softened, tucking his hands into the pockets of his tan jacket. "Listen, Buck. I'm sorry, I was just having a little fun. It's just… you've been with us for almost 6 months now and haven't really talked to anyone besides the Avengers. I just wanted to help you make friends."

The corners of Bucky's mouth twitched up as he remembered the night before. "I think Amelia would've ended up my friend whether I liked it or not. It's okay, though, I guess. We talked for a while, but she didn't ask me about HYDRA. It was nice. Then we watched movies until she fell asleep."

"Sounds nice. I was thinking maybe after Tony shows them what he's working on, the four of us could go out to lunch and get to know each other a little better. You, Amelia, Zach, and I."

Bucky thought for a minute. A voice in the back of his head was screaming.

 _They'll find you. Amelia's a traitor, you thought she liked you? You thought you had a friend? She works for HYDRA. Zach too. They're here to kill everyone and take you back._

Steve could practically see the cogs turning in his head. His expression turned into one of sympathy.

"They're good, Buck. They're on our side."

Bucky took a deep breath, his eyes meeting Steves. It was an unspoken promise from Steve that Bucky accepted.

"Ok. I'd like that." He finally answered. Steve gave a small smile as he pat Bucky on the back, leading him into the living room where a sleepy Tony and Pepper sat waiting.

/

"So, what are we thinking? First impressions?"

Tony, Pepper, Bucky, and Steve all sat on the couch of the latter two's apartment. The clock read 6:30 AM.

Tony answered his own question before anyone else could. "I, for one, think they will be valuable assets." Bucky tensed at the term, his blue eyes narrowing. "Zach will take a while to get used to us, but he's brilliant. I've seen some of his work. He's most comfortable alone, no doubt, but I don't think he'll have the chance to fly solo if he's in the same building as Amelia. The girl is so damn open I doubt she's ever made eye contact with someone and not had a conversation with them."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Pepper spoke up, voice still clouded with sleep. They had all woken up just a few minutes ago and were trying to stay alert, but Bucky couldn't help himself from noticing how frequently Tony and Pepper were yawning. Him and Steve were fine, though - they had gotten used to it in the war.

HYDRA wasn't very mindful of his sleep schedule, either.

"It's a blessing and a curse I suppose. Zach should be fine, I don't think he'll even do anything without us asking him to. Amelia, however, we need to keep close tabs on her for her own safety." Steve decided, being the first to stand from the couch. Bucky rose as well, followed by Tony and Pepper, who were each grumbling in half-hearted protest.

"Well," Tony stretched with a final yawn before continuing, "Let's go wake the fresh meat up."

The four complied, piling into the elevator, each wondering how the two new recruits would take to being woken up so early.

Turns out they didn't have to worry.

/

"Now I ain't sayin she a gold digger."

Amelia danced around the kitchen, moving her body in rhythm with the beat of the song. She noticed how Zach watched her, his face a mixture of exhaustion and amusement.

"It's like six thirty, how do you have so much energy?" He practically screamed over the music that was blasting through the apartment floor. Amelia laughed, picking up the large bowl of cracked eggs and mixing it to the beat, continuing her dance.

"Are you complaining? I make a bomb ass omelette, it's worth being up early for!" Zach just gave a sarcastic eye roll at her response, a smile present on his face, before taking a seat at the breakfast bar.

Amelia didn't fail to notice how he was warming up to her. She was appreciative, especially considering how wary he was around the others.

"But she ain't messin with no broke-" The curls that had escapen her messy bun stopped bouncing along with her over-enthusiastic dancing when she was cut off upon realizing who had just exited the elevator and stood at the entrance of the kitchen. The music was so loud, both her and Zach hadn't heard them enter.

A very amused Tony, Pepper, Steve, and Bucky stood, speechless. A few seconds passed, 'Gold Digger' still blasting at full volume, and Amelia suddenly became very aware that she was wearing short cotton sleeping shorts and a tank top, her hair tied up with pieces falling out everywhere, and no makeup. Not to mention her loud singing and crazy dancing. Amelia could see why they were so amused.

She did a mental shrug, continuing to mix the eggs and sing, and resumed her dancing.

"Get down girl, go head get down. Cutie the bomb, met her at a beauty salon, with a baby Louis Vuitton, under her underarm." She was in the middle of using a spatula as a microphone and singing dramatically to Bucky and Steve when Amelia was interrupted.

"Alright JARVIS, turn it off." JARVIS complied with Tony's demands, and the music was killed. Amelia frowned, turning around and flipping an omelette.

"Wow, I didn't peg you as an old-school Kanye kind of chick." Tony chuckled, his eyebrows raised.

"It's a classic!" She defended, cheeks burning.

"Hey, be glad it wasn't old-school Avril Lavigne, cause I would have been jamming a lot harder than that. Now, who wants an omelette?" Amelia continued, a bright smile present on her face.

Ten minutes later, the six sat around the table, making light conversation as they tore into Amelia's breakfast.

"So...you do that every morning?" Amelia was surprised when Bucky addressed her, but grinned sheepishly nonetheless.

"Whenever I can. A good morning means a good day." She explained simply. He gave a small but genuine smile, his eyes scanning her face.

"Thank you for breakfast, by the way." He suddenly remembered, glancing down at his empty plate.

Amelia stifled a giggle when she realized he, as well as Steve, had wolfed their share of omelettes down. "My pleasure."

"So, Buck and I were hoping that after you two have had a chance to work with Tony, you would be up for going out for lunch somewhere. Our treat." Steve's hopeful eyes flicked between the newest team members. Amelia could feel her face light up.

"Of course! Zach?" His eyes darted between the three of them before coming to rest on Amelia.

"If you're going, then sure." Zach spoke uncertainly, toying with the buttons of his sleep shirt. Steve gave him a brotherly pat on the back as he stood, causing Zach to jump a bit. Bucky raised an eyebrow, his eyes bright with amusement, and the edges of his lips turned up in a small smile.

Amelia found that she quite liked it when he smiled.

As if he could feel her green eyes admiring his expression, Bucky's gaze snapped to the side to meet her own. The expression in his eyes was unreadable.

She held the eye contact for a few more seconds, letting her lips quirk upwards for a second, cocked her head to the side ever-so-slightly, and finally averted her gaze. Only after realizing that everyone at the table was watching their unspoken exchange, of course.

"You two should probably go get dressed, then meet me down in my workshop. JARVIS will help you there." Tony spoke slowly; Amelia could practically see the cogs turning in his head. She cleared her throat.

"Right. So, uh, see you for lunch!" Within seconds, she had retreated to her room. Zach followed soon after.

Amelia could hear Tony teasing Bucky from her room. "Wow, you've really got a way with words, haven't you, One Armed Wonder?" The billionaire's voice rang out. She rolled her eyes, but could feel a light blush spread across her cheeks.

Amelia ignored the outside conversation and chose instead to admire the gorgeous white vanity in her room, tapping her nails along the glossy finish as she unpacked her makeup. She laid each individual piece of makeup and each brush out on the large vanity before grouping them according to type, eventually color-coding each type. There was something therapeutic to Amelia about seeing all of her lipsticks color-coded and upright.

Once she was satisfied with her work, Amelia let whatever loose curls that hadn't escaped from her bun yet free. A few minutes was all she needed for her skillful fingers to weave a french braid that traveled down to her mid-back.

She dressed quickly, opting for a casual outfit. She doubted Zach and her would get into too much dirty work on their first day. Moments later, she surveyed her reflection in the vanity. Amelia wore an open, loose white blouse, a few buttons undone and sleeves rolled up to mid-forearms. The blouse was tucked into a pair of crisp black jeans. After slipping on a pair of black ankle booties and fastening a watch to her wrist, Amelia was satisfied with her appearance.

She chose a lighter look with her makeup today, but nonetheless took her time applying it. Amelia loved makeup - it was art to her. She had toyed around with the idea of being a makeup artist when she was younger, but eventually got caught up in the engineering field.

While applying her makeup (using pure muscle memory), Amelia's mind began to wander. She thought of how surreal it was that she was sitting in the Avengers tower at this very second. She thought of how excited she was to finally be exposed to the advanced tech that her, Tony, and Zach would be working on. She thought about the friends she had made.

One friend, in particular.

Steve was great. He was kind, smart, and funny - and Amelia knew they would be good friends. Bucky, however…

She couldn't describe the feelings she had. Amelia had only known him one day, but she couldn't seem to stop replaying the night before in her head. She was eagerly awaiting getting to know him better.

It wasn't a crush. Crushes were for children. Amelia preferred to call it… an 'involuntary infatuation'.

 _Okay. Maybe it's a crush._

Amelia frowned. She felt incredibly selfish. She knew he probably was not in the best mental state, after what had happened to him. Being in a relationship would probably screw him up in all kinds of ways. He didn't need her. She was bad for him, she would drive him psycho.

 _You can deal with psycho. You_ _were_ _psycho._

She rolled her eyes at her inner monologue. Her thoughts inevitably returned to Bucky.

His eyes, and their gorgeous shade of blue. His eyes told more than his face ever would. His hair, which although long, suited him. His stubble, which contributed to the dangerous look about him. She loved it.

Even his arm fascinated her. She caught herself wondering about the anatomy of it. Maybe, when they were closer, he would let her study it.

"Amelia? You almost ready?" Zach knocked on her door lightly, and Amelia was jolted out of her thoughts.

"Yeah, I'm just - one second!" She hastily applied a second coat of her favorite neutral pink lipstick and grabbed her phone. Within seconds, she entered the beautifully furnished living room to see Zach waiting on the couch.

Amelia took a few seconds to admire the open floor plan of the apartment, and found herself doubting she would ever get used to it. "You didn't have to wait, Z, you could've gone without me! I feel bad." She pouted slightly.

Zach offered a smile at the nickname and stood, having just finished cleaning his glasses. "Nah, it's okay. I didn't want to go down alone."

They entered the elevator together, before simultaneously realizing neither of them had any idea where they were going.

"Uh, JARVIS?" Amelia called out, after her laughter died down.

"No worries, I'll select the floor for you." The computerized voice assured.

The two shared a grin when a button labeled '4B' lit up and the elevator began to move. Within moments, it stopped with a ding, and the silver doors opened smoothly to reveal Tony's workshop.

The place was large, with rows upon rows of tools. Amelia noted with a frown that there seemed to be no organization system in place. She could've sworn her eye twitched a few times.

"Ah! So you've decided to grace me with your presence. Well, follow me, youngins." Tony led the two deeper into his workshop, weaving between the various tables and racks of trinkets and tools. They approached a door near the back.

Tony punched a long combination of numbers, letters, and symbols into a keypad that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. The piece of technology then scanned his fingerprint, then pricked his thumb and tested his blood. Amelia raised an eyebrow.

"That's some heavy security." She commented, amused. Tony cast a sideways glance at her as several locks in the door whirred and clicked.

"It should give you two a hint at just how much I really don't want HYDRA to get this back."

Finally, the door slid open, and the three entered the room.

It was quite bright, and smelled of disinfectant. The room was an average size, but nowhere near as big as Tony's main workshop. There were still an impressive number of tools, but in this room they were neatly organized across one long table. What Amelia assumed to be a holographic board was present, hovering next to a giant mass with a tarp over it.

She couldn't help but grin. "Is this the part where you dramatically rip the tarp off-"

That's exactly what he did.

Amelia's lips parted in amazement. The piece of machinery underneath was… impressive, to say the least. It was big, maybe half the size of a school bus. It seemed to be made up of three parts; a tall rectangular segment, which she guessed to be about 7 feet tall, a shorter but far longer middle segment, and another tall rectangular segment. The middle segment was almost completely bare upon first look, but when observed closer, Amelia noticed a nearly blacked-out window like panel. The outer segments, however, were completely covered in levers and buttons.

"This is… wow. So, what do we know?" Surprisingly, Zach was the first to speak. Tony and Amelia were stunned, and turned around to look at him. He seemed to be 'in the zone', so to speak. His sleeves were rolled up and his glasses were perched at the top of his nose. She could tell by the expression on his face that there were a million things running through his head.

Tony nodded after a few seconds. "Basically? Nothing. I don't know what it was used for, and I've figured out how to take it apart, but wanted first at least to know it's purpose. By taking it apart, I would've risked accidentally breaking it, or making it so that it can't fulfill it's purpose. A purpose that I would _really_ like to know about." He sounded mildly pissed off.

"The buttons?" Amelia questioned, surveying each inch of the machine for what might be a power button.

"Searched the entire machine, pressed each button, nothing." The man answered, crossing his arms before continuing. "This machine was important to HYDRA. It was guarded heavily. We need to find out what it is and how to use it against them before they launch their next attack. I have a feeling that they were using this machine to make some sort of weapon… see the window panel? I think when the machine's on, the window was used to see what was going on inside. Maybe to see the development of the weapon, or it's effect on something."

Amelia and Zach nodded carefully, the former chewing on the inside of her cheek. It was certainly complicated.

"We won't be able to figure out any more about it until we can get inside it and explore its anatomy. Breaking it is definitely a possibility, but it's a risk we're going to have to take. Otherwise, it could be years before we figure out how to turn it on. If it even still turns on." Amelia shared her thoughts, a manicured finger cautiously pressing a few buttons.

The other two silently agreed.

Two hours passed. The three engineers had spent their time toying with whatever ideas passed through their heads of what the machine might be used for, and testing out the various tools Tony had.

Amelia gingerly selected a metal contraption with a screen.

"This one?" She addressed Tony, the billionaire sparing her a quick glance.

"Oh, that just detects properties and types of metals. Pretty useless." Amelia's eyebrows furrowed.

She took the tool to the machine, carefully scanning it from top to bottom and recording the results. She found the holographic board to be a convenient way of taking notes.

"Wait…" She spoke under her breath, staring hard at the scanner and repeating the test. "Hey, check this out."

The two men were by her side almost instantly. "You found something?" Zach said eagerly.

"Look. The rest of the machine is made of pure tungsten. But on both end segments, a small area is made of tungsten carbide. It's weaker, only by a little bit, but why change the material for one small square, and on each side?" Her brain was running a mile a minute. "I think this machine is either to test or to produce a weapon. This side, with the more levers, is where you put something in. Maybe a formula of something. Then, the middle segment, the window is to watch it being produced or watch it being tested on something. Then, the end, is where it comes out. The tungsten carbide sections is where it enters, and eventually exits." She explained.

"That would make sense. But what was it producing? Or what was it testing?" Zach thought out loud. He seemed to be in his own little world, Amelia noted with a small smile.

"Stupid nazis, what is it for?" Tony looked about ready to pull his hair out.

Nazis. HYDRA was made of Nazis. Nazis were German.

Amelia gasped. "I read this book once. On German engineering and its advancements in war or whatever. Page... oh what was it… page 638?" She narrowed her eyes, trying to recall what the page said exactly.

"How…?" Zach's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Eidetic memory. Or photographic, whatever you want to call it." Tony remembered seeing the detail on her file a few weeks ago. Amelia nodded.

"Most German machines built after the 1940s, if they're made traditionally, feature a startup system requiring a series of triggers. This could be anything from levers pulled simultaneously and paired with an influx of a powerful energy source, or simply a few buttons pressed in the correct order. The triggering system is usually unusual - this was to ensure that enemies couldn't harness their own machines against them." She recalled. "The energy source has to be localized in the machine. There's nowhere for an outside source to penetrate."

Tony's face lit up. "So, pressing just one button wouldn't work…"

"It has to be multiple. In the correct order." Zach finished for him, still observing the machine.

"But what could it be? We can't just press every single button in a random order, that'd take forever." Amelia wondered, going back to chewing on the inside of her cheek and sighing.

Amelia and Tony were lost in thought when a loud whirring noise filled the room. Tony's eyes just about popped out of his head when The buttons on the machine lit up. Zach smiled proudly.

"What? What did you..? What?" The billionaire was speechless.

"Well, this button on segment one says 'eins', this one on segment two says 'zwei', and this one here on segment three says 'drei'. I don't know much German, but I figured that 'one, two, three' might have worked."

Amelia beamed, holding back a squeal and squeezing Zach in a hug. "You did it!"

He snapped out of his work zone for a moment, smiling sheepishly and running a hand through his wild curly hair. However, when the machine made a loud click, he was back in the zone.

"Check this out." Tony waved them over. The window-like panel had lost it's dark shadowing to reveal the inside of the middle segment. It was almost like looking into a microwave, Amelia noted amusedly.

The inside of segment 2 was brightly lit. It featured what looked like a conveyer belt going across, connecting the three segments. Silver tools hung from the roof of the machine, undoubtedly used on whatever passed across the conveyer belt.

"The opening in segment three is completely hollow. In segment one, it's not - there's something in there. I think you might have caught them in the middle of an experiment." Amelia observed. "That means if we can get the machine to start whatever it's for, we'll get an end product!"

"Ms. Pallis and Mr. Rhoades, I have a message from Steve. He says 'Bucky and I are ready whenever you two are. We'll be waiting in the lobby.'" JARVIS snapped them out of their trance. Amelia checked her watch, and almost gasped when it was already noon.

"Wow, time flies when you're having fun!" She commented with a grin.

"We've figured out enough for today, thanks for the help. Same time tomorrow, though!" Tony guided the three out of the room. Amelia was upset to be removed from the mystery, but was ecstatic to be going out for lunch with her three newest friends.

/

Bucky wasn't usually an impatient man. For whatever reason, though, today he couldn't seem to wait for Amelia and Zach to arrive in the lobby.

He couldn't pinpoint his feelings for Amelia. What he did know, though, is that he hadn't felt this way in 70 years.

He knew he shouldn't be this… _invested_ … in her. Bucky had just met the girl. He hardly knew her, and certainly didn't know her intentions.

That didn't mean he couldn't admire how she talked to him, though. She seemed fearless. Honest, also. Genuine. He liked it.

He had spent quite some time studying her face in the hours he had spent with her. Memorizing it. How her eyes were greener when she was excited or happy, but more of a neutral hazel when she was calm. How the loose curls in her hair bounced slightly with each step of hers. How she was constantly biting her pink bottom lip, or the inside of her cheek. Her high cheekbones, which contributed to her contagious smile. Her hands, too. They were small, but skilled.

He was brought back to reality by a pat on the shoulder from Steve. He looked up to see Amelia and Zach heading towards them, Zach trailing behind her like a puppy. He didn't like it.

"Hey!" She greeted them brightly, her eyes meeting Bucky's. Zach offered a weak smile.

"Hey you two. Let's head to the restaurant, then you two can tell us all about your day with Tony. I'm sure it was buckets of fun." Steve said with a sarcastic smile, leading the group out of the Stark tower and down the street.

They walked in a comfortable silence. The sidewalks were busy, but not packed. Bucky found himself subconsciously scanning the streets and buildings for any signs of danger, one hand in his jacket pocket and the other hanging close to the glock tucked into his waistband.

Cars were honking. Desperate looking men and women were hailing cabs. Sharply dressed businessmen were shouting into their cell phones, pushing through the crowds with their briefcases. Bucky tensed whenever a civilian got too close to him, or any of the three others walking with him. Thankfully, the dangerous vibe he gave out mixed with the strong demeanor of Steve was enough to keep most away.

He cast a glance to his side to see Amelia walking next to him, smiling to herself as she admired the pedestrians. She seemed to realize she was being watched, and looked up at Bucky.

"It's amazing, isn't it? Each of these people have their own lives, their own families. Pets. Jobs. Hopes and dreams." She seemed to think out loud. Bucky's lips twitched up in a smile.

"Yeah, it is." Was his simple response.

The group fell back into silence. With each turn they made, the crowds got thinner.

Within minutes, they arrived at the restaurant. It was small, seemingly locally owned.

"It's a soups, salads, and sandwiches type of place. Something for everyone, I hope." Steve announced, leading them into the building. They all slipped into a booth, Bucky seated next to Steve and across from Amelia.

The restaurant was decorated with a 'farm fresh' theme. The place wasn't dead, but certainly wasn't busy. A few people held quiet conversations at booths around them, the closest group maybe ten feet away.

An overly cheery teenage girl greeted them. "Hi, my name is Zoe and I'll be your hostess for today! What can I get you all to drink?" Bucky almost winced at the squeakiness of her voice.

They all ordered their refreshments, and Zoe returned with their drinks minutes later, this time bringing menus for the group to look over.

"Ok, so get this." Amelia began her story, trying (and slightly failing) to contain her excitement.

"So we get there, and-" She paused, looking around the restaurant. "Lean in, just in case."

The group complied, each leaning in closer. They must have looked amusing, with their heads together.

"So we get there and Tony's got this secret room," She spoke in a whisper, "Well, he takes us in there, and shows us this huge machine. I've never seen anything like it before! We spent hours trying to figure out how to turn it on, eventually Zach does it. So we figure out that it's either to produce or test weapons. Maybe even both. Something small, maybe a bomb of some sort? Anyways, I don't want to get too technical. We think there's something left in there from a test that they never finished it. We're going to try to get it out tomorrow."

"Wow, that's amazing. We'll have some of their own weaponry to use against them." Steve thought out loud. The four of them leaned back, no longer having to whisper.

Amelia nodded, her grin ever-present on her face. "Yep. You could say I'm pretty excited. Before today, the most complicated thing I had ever worked on was one of my own inventions, which is no fun. There's no mystery."

Bucky smiled inwardly at how passionate she was when she spoke.

Zoe returned. "Are you all ready to order?"

"Yes ma'am, I'll take the…" Amelia scanned the menu for a second. "Summer salad, extra tomato and no avocado please!"

Zach and Steve ordered while Bucky read the menu, his blue eyes narrowing at some of the choices. Who would order a salad of just kale?

He ordered whatever sounded halfway decent. Some type of sub sandwich.

In all honesty, he was more focused on the certain someone sat across from him than his lunch.

 **A/N: You guys! The support has been crazy. Love you all, special thanks to the reviewers, glad you're enjoying :) Oh, and if anyone cares, I always imagined Amelia as AnnaSophia Robb. Soooo Amelia and Bucky may or may not be crushing :) But really, I have such plans for this story. The angst, y'all. The angst. Be ready ;)**


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